News

Apps: Foursquare 6.2, Hyper Breaker Turbo, Pandora 4.3 + Shazam 6.0

Foursquare Labs has introduced a number of new search features to its Foursquare (free) app in version 6.2, letting users filter searches by price, places that users have saved, places users haven’t been yet, places open at that time, and more new options. These advanced filters were added to the desktop version of the site a few weeks ago; now they’ve made their way to Foursquare’s mobile app.

“Fearless” isn’t the first word we’d generally use to describe brick-breaking games—the Breakout-inspired genre is so old and established that new versions can’t help but feel iterative. Yet Barry Kostjens’ new Hyper Breaker Turbo ($2) manages to feel genuinely fresh and even pretty ingenious, thanks to the developer’s decision to throw away some of Breakout’s most classic rules. Instead of requiring you to break every brick on the screen before moving to the next level, Hyper Breaker Turbo’s 75 stages continue scrolling upwards to follow the motion of your ball, which can be gently reflected off your curved paddle, or smashed with upward momentum. The paddle can pass through bricks, but the ball must break or dodge them, adding another interesting twist to keep things moving smoothly. You beat each stage by making the ball touch a goal that’s generally several screen lengths up, buried behind layers of destructible bricks and walls formed by unbreakable blocks. While the game’s graphics and music aren’t going to wow anyone, they’re competent enough to look and sound good on even the latest Retina iPads and iPhones, while the touchscreen is used ideally for paddle and ball physics. Breakout fans should consider this one a must-see for the price.

Pandora Media’s Pandora Radio (free) has updated to version 4.3 with a greater emphasis on Facebook sharing. It’s now possible to automatically publish Pandora activity on Facebook — what a user shares is customizable in privacy settings. Users can also tap album artwork to view lyrics, artist info and more.

Shazam Entertainment’s Shazam (free) is now a universal app, adding iPad support in version 6.0. With that support comes a host of Shazam for iPad features, including an auto-tagging mode that tags music and media automatically, even while running in the background; you can continue to use the app for music discovery while ambient songs are being identified. Direct links to iTunes and related YouTube videos are then presented to users. The app’s interactive maps let users see what songs are being tagged in a particular location. Shazam’s redesigned home screen now includes real-time updates of what U.S. users are tagging on TV, as well.